Sportive Blog - Lorna Johnston - If it ain't broke...

Before I started cycling I was never passionate about any sport. I called defeat at the first time I hit the ball into the net at tennis, hit a ‘freshie’ on the golf course or had a sinus washout from a wipeout at wakeboarding.

"Mr Wiggins (pictured above) clearly has much longer legs than I do..."

But the bonus of being lazy and pessimistic is that you rarely get injured. As a result of which I have never before had to experience the frustration and disappointment of being unable to train. I know now, it’s torture.

I had thus far been very lucky with my cycling - apart from the inevitable spills when one first learns how to use clipless pedals I have escaped unharmed. Until the day I decided to mess about with my bike set up just before an 85 mile ride and raised my seat by a couple of centimetres! I’d been watching too much of the Tour de Romandie and figured if a seat that high above the bars was good enough for Mr Wiggins then it was good enough for me. Pain in my calf at mile 12 wasn’t enough to alert me to the incorrect setup, nor was an intensifying pain on every climb of our hilly course. Being unable to walk the next day made me wonder if per chance it was my seat position that was the problem.

So here I am, 8 weeks later and just back on the bike. I’ve had 6 weeks of absolutely no cycling, 10 sessions of physio, 1 minor setback when I thought I felt better and was told to take it easy so went and hammered out an hour of intervals and delayed my recovery by a further 3 weeks.

I learned a few things the hard way.

1) Injuries are frustrating but you just have to deal with them. Trying to come back too quickly is detrimental. Fact!!

2) Eating cake and feeling sorry for yourself does not aid recovery - nutrition and diet are all the more important when you can’t keep up your normal training regime.

3) Bike fit is important. If you are in any doubt at all as to whether you have the correct set up or not, get a bike fit done. There’s no point in guessing.